One takeaway from #ax2024 is how many people desperately want to draw manga, but don’t know how to get to the level where they’ll get published / can go pro. When i tell them that if they want to work in Japan, they should learn to speak/read Japanese, they’re so sad. After talking with JP manga & US comics editors, I’ve heard a few common themes / tips for aspiring manga / webtoon creators:

1. Start with one-shot short stories, and do a lot of them! It will help you build your storytelling muscles and develop your individual art style

Time to start my San Diego @Comic_Con adventures photo thread. First up, @DarkHorseComics returns to #SDCC2023 exhibit hall with their ginormous booth #2615! Autograph session schedule, including a Makoto Yukimura autograph session at 3 pm Sunday: https://t.co/r20ddAIGpjdarkhorse.com/Blog/3803/sdcc…




Dropped by the @KodanshaManga booth #5542 at #SDCC2023 to see the exhibit of replica pages + original Vinland Saga illustrations that @makotoyukimura created to give to winners of the #VinlandSagaVikingContest. How to enter: https://t.co/C8kV7gfbPakodansha.us/2023/06/08/vin…

Also at the @kyotomm is the Maeda coffee shop, which has an all-star array of sketches by #manga creators on the walls. Fun playing “guess the manga creator” here. let’s see how many we can identify… I see Tetsuya Chiba (Ashita no Joe), Yoshiyuki Tomino and Yoshikazu Yasuhiko (Mobile Suit Gundam) and maybe Go Nagai (Devilman) ?

Oh. My. Stars! The Kaoru Mori / Bride’s Story #manga exhibit will be on display at the @kyotomm manga museum during my brief visit to Kyoto today!!! Eeeeeeee! kyotomm.jp/en/ee/otoyomeg… hear why this @yenpress title is a @mangasplaining must-read: mangasplaining.com/blog/ep-20-a-b… Holy cow, that Kaoru Mori / Bride’s Story at @kyotomm is everything i could have wanted and more. Gorgeous original art and bilingual Japanese *and* ENGLISH descriptions & artist commentary. kyotomm.jp/ee/otoyomegata…

I’m in Osaka today - got here last night to meet up with Hawaii pals @Melissa808 & Pali Kaaihue from DokoGa TV / @NSTHAWAII - 1st eats: beef cutlets at Kyoto Katsugyu gyukatsu-kyotokatsugyu.com #japantravel A neat part of eating at Kyoto Gyukatsu was the option to sear your meat at individual table grills. #osaka gyukatsu-kyotokatsugyu.com

Cracked open this manga I found at the Tezuka Museum about the “untold story about how Tezuka created Blackjack, and it’s incredible. Full of stories from his former assistants and peers, about how he was sometimes kind and other times demanding and difficult to work with. There’s this scene where Go Nagai (Devilman) recalls going to San Diego Comic-Con with Tezuka, going to see The Shining, then later seeing him back at the room, pounding out manga pages.

THURS at @NY_Comic_Con! I'll be moderating "What's Next for Webtoons?" with Sandy Resnick fr. @webtoon, Michael Son from @tapas_app & JuYoun Lee fr. @yenpress/@izepress, as we talk about trends to watch in webtoon publishing biz - bit.ly/NYCCWebtoonRT @NY_Comic_Con @webtoon @tapas_app @yenpress @izepress The "What's Next for Webtoons" panel will cover trends in webtoon publishing -- what makes it different from manga & comics publishing in N. America + opportunities & challenges of its mobile-first ecosystem for readers, content creators & publishers bit.ly/NYCCWebtoonRT

FRIDAY at @NY_Comic_Con! "This Manga is Awesome!" featuring @Darfox8 fr. @MangaMacPodcast, @microwaevy fr @SatNightShoggy, @BrigidAlverson fr. @icv2, Robin Brenner @nfntpeeps, @libraryladynyc & me! 3:30-4:30 pm, Rm 1C03 bit.ly/AwesomeManga22 @NY_Comic_Con @Darfox8 @MangaMacPodcast @microwaevy @SatNightShoggy @BrigidAlverson @ICV2 @nfntpeeps @libraryladynyc So "how is 'This Manga is Awesome!" different than the Best & Worst Manga panel (that I run at SDCC & the NYCC version that'll be on Thurs organized by @JRLibrarian)? WELL! the categories are VERY different, and slightly sillier!
one example:
"This Manga is Bat-Sh*t Crazy!"

Oh man. I filled 2 shopping bags of manga to give away at the “This Manga is Awesome!” panel at NYCC on friday and i havent made a dent in my hallway piles. Here’s the hallway with what’s still there… it doesnt look like 2 shopping bags of books were removed… 🫣 most of it is stuff i want to keep / series I’m currently reading that cant fit in my library room now

i'm not a huge fan of live-action adaptations of manga, but this one is SO GOOD, I almost want to re-watch it again. It's called Sleepeeer Hit, and it's a really fun/fascinating/heartwarming look at the world of manga publishing. viki.com/tv/38709c-slee… @Viki Sleepeeer Hit (lousy English title) is based on an 18+ vol manga series “Juhan Shuttai!” by Naoko Matsuda, currently published in Shogakukan's seinen manga magazine Big Comic Spirits. You can buy/read the Japanese version via @BOOK_WALKER bookwalker.jp/de3a000b98-838…

Shall i take you on a photo tour of the comics & toy shops of Rue Dante in Paris? It’s just a short walk from Notre Dame & the famous Shakespeare & Co. bookshop, and in 1 block, you can browse a wide array of comics, manga & BD joy If you approach Rue Dante from the Notre Dame/Shakespeare & Co. direction like I did, your first shop is LaBD2collec at 2 Rue Dante. I could not find a website, but here’s a video of what’s inside

Today’s lovely walk-around-Paris surprise: seeing a wall of comics explaining/honoring the restoration work being done in Notre Dame Here’s a closer look at the huge comics pages at Notre Dame and the creators behind them. First, Adjim Danngar, creator of Mamie Denis & his interviews with the reconstruction crew. See more of his work here: adjimdanngar.wordpress.com

Per @ben_towle’s recommendation, i poked my head into Librairie Super-héros near Le Centre Pompidou to see what’s new. librairie-superheros.com/second.php From the “omg, that’s available in French?” side, here’s a 6-volume collection of the “perfect edition” of Eden: It’s an Endless World by Hiroki Endo - vol 6 came out in january 2022, with the series expected to be completed w/ 9 volumes fr. @PaniniManga panini.fr/shp_fra_fr/blo…

The really weird thing about the secondary / collector's market for out-of-print manga is that comic shops (the #1 place to find that hard-to-find stray volume) seem largely unaware of their rarity or value if they have them. If it ain't listed in the Overstreet Guide, maybe? the other fascinating difference between the collector's market for manga vs. the comics market is that manga collectors aren't as hell-bent on getting something in 'mint condition' - they just want it in decent, readable condition for a (semi-)reasonable price.

This year's edition of the Manga Publishing Industry Roundtable for @Comic_Con @ Home is now live: bit.ly/MangaBiz2021 - See how @yenpress @SquareEnixBooks @VIZMedia @KodanshaManga & @denpa_books see where things are at now & where they're going next One interesting part of the Comic-Con @ Home Manga Publisher Roundtable conversation about why long series (like Hajime no Ippo) can be extra challenging to license for publication in English bit.ly/MangaBiz2021

ICYMI - Episode 5 of @mangasplaining is up! This week, we look at What the Font?! A Guide to Western Typefaces by Kuniichi Ashiya fr. @gomanga mangasplaining.com/blog/episode-5… What the Font?! is kind of part manga, part art history / design book, as it gives faces and personalities to popular typefaces, like Helvetica, Bodoni, Franklin Gothic and yes, even Comic Sans. mangasplaining.com/blog/episode-5…

I started reading Blue Lock, the new soccer manga by Muneyuki Kaneshiro & Yusuke Nomura fr. @KodanshaManga and some aspects of the character designs remind me of Tite Kubo (Bleach) & Wataru Watanabe (Yowamushi Pedal) kodansha.us/series/blue-lo… Blue Lock starts off as a basic sports manga, with scenes at a high school playoff, but within a few chapters, things take a darker turn... kinda like Prison School or Battle Royale. Your first hint of this is seeing the sketch of the cover on the title page. What's on his neck?

At #ProjectAnime19 listening to @dallasmiddaugh ‘s presentation on the manga publishing trends in n.america #AX2019 Here’s @dallasmiddaugh ‘s chart showing the sales growth of manga since 2002. Manga enjoyed “geometric growth” until 2007. Recovery only began again in 2013, partly thanks to Attack on Titan manga/anime

Onward to the next panel at #ProjectAnime19: “Adopting Japanese Properties for a Global Audience” w/ Maya Kambe fr. Paramount, Tony Ishizuka, VP Int’l Productions - Sony PIctures, & David Uslan fr. Uslan Entertainment. As far as western adaptations of JP anime/manga content, “no one has cracked the code. But it also depends on your expectations. If you’re expecting a James Cameron-sized blockbuster, that’s a different challenge than if you’re going for smaller production.” - Tony Ishizuka

Dallas Middaugh @dallasmiddaugh ‘s opening remarks at Project Anime in LA described anime & manga as “going through a period of radical change” - as overseas interest & availability of content from Japan has grown + increased investment fr. overseas #ProjectAnime19 #AX2019 “When I started in this biz, JP rights holders weren’t interested in markets outside of Japan - at most, int’l licensing was only 5-15% of their revenue. To them it was like sofa change.” -@dallasmiddaugh #ProjectAnime #AX2019

Here's my sketches from the recent @GirlsinTech Catalyst Conference San Francisco. Lots of great speakers, and good vibes.

Thanks a bunch to Girls in Tech & @LudicCreatives for the opportunity to draw at this event again this year! #GITcatalyst

catalystsf.girlsintech.org More from Day 1 of @GirlsinTech Catalyst 2019 - Diana Cruz Solash fr. @Infor, Summer Simmons fr. @netflix, Apollo program engineer Poppy Northcutt #GITcatalyst